26 Orchid Petals
by florencebisson
Summary: Aria struggles with the way Ezra left her behind to go see his son and she decides to deal with it the only way she knows: she writes about it. Will Ezra find out how much she misses him? Kind of my twist on the 3x20 make-up.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the rights belong to ABC Family, unfortunately. Oh and to the birthday boy, Ed Sheeran.**

* * *

"Think tiny, Spencer, think tiny…" Spencer Hastings spoke to herself as she looked around the deserted hallway of the third floor of the unfamiliar apartment building. She had looked under the doormat, without any specific hopes, and found it like she expected: lacking a key.  
She ran an irritated hand through her messy brown curls and exhaled heavily.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea Spencer. This has to be a sign. We can find another place to talk about all of this…" Emily Fields spoke hesitantly. Her sport sneakers scratched against the linoleum floor as she paced up and down the corridor, letting her friend do her own investigation.

"Where would they put that damn key?!" Spencer's voice boomed in the enclosed space as she threw her hands up in defeat.

She stared out the window for an entire minute before a thought popped in her brain.

"Unless…" she drummed her fingers against her lower lip and she turned around suddenly, facing the door frame of apartment 3B. She rose on her tip toes and ran both of her hands on the molding of the door. All she collected was dust. She leaned her head against the door, almost admitting defeat. Emily had walked past Spencer and had reached a stop next to the window sill, slightly resting her hips on it. She jumped back upright when she heard the loud sound of the flower pot crashing to the ground. Spencer's head snapped up from its place on the door abruptly and she looked to the ground. She started laughing in delight, almost sounding hysterical. Emily looked at her quizzically. Spencer walked to the broken flowe pot and turned over some dirt, revealing a small, shiny, metallic object. A key. She looked up at Emily from her crouched position on the floor and smiled.

* * *

Spencer and Emily sat rather uncomfortably on the couch of Ezra Fitz's apartment. Both had yet to say a word even if that was the main goal of their trip here. Emily had texted Hanna earlier to let her know they had found the key to get in. The tension was thick in the one-bedroom place and Spencer needed to blow off steam. She stood up and walked around, exploring. If she was going to be stuck here until she admitted her ex-boyfriend was A-, she could make herself comfortable.

"She really _does_ look after those plants." She noted as she ran her fingers along the leafs of a bamboo set on the table beside the couch.

"Cut her some slack. She misses him so much. Didn't you wear Toby's shirt under your clothes when he broke up with you for the first time?" Emily chuckled, recalling that memory.

Spencer gave her a stiff smile. She changed the subject quickly while she made her way over to the desk sitting opposite to the couch. She punched some letters on the type writer and the ghost of a smile formed on her lips. She turned to face Emily.

"You do realise that you are sitting on the couch they spent the better part of their relationship _bonding_ and creating memories, right?" she smirked as Emily shifted uncomfortably before standing up as well.

"Well thanks a lot for planting that thought in my brain, now I won't be able to touch anything in here." The athletic girl spoke with a hint of a smile in her voice.

Emily picked up a frame holding a picture of Aria and Ezra. The shot had been taken during their summer trip to Chicago. She smiled softly.

"They breathe adorableness, it's almost intoxicating." Emily commented, holding the frame for Spencer to see as she looked over her shoulder.

They both loved the sight of their friend being so happy, it was truly heart-warming.

"But let's face it, they haven't been _that _happy in a long time…" Spencer whispered.

"Nobody expects them to be. Wouldn't you be a mess if you were faced with a similar situation?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Her friend mumbled in response.

The door of the cozy apartment opened so fast that the two girls nearly didn't have the time to register what was happening. A flash of blond locks and a canary yellow flowy blouse stood before them, an assorted handbag attached to the young girl's hip. Her stiletto heels clacked against the hardwood floor as she skipped towards them.

"So, what did you guys have to talk about that required the privacy of Fitzy and Aria's apartment?"

Spencer huffed and walked past Hanna to shut the door and lock it.

* * *

"Hanna, would you quit snooping through Fitz's things? This is clearly not what we came here to do and our presence shouldn't be noticeable after we leave!" Spencer spoke in an annoyed tone, fidgeting with the long necklace fastened loosely around her neck.

"Well this is boring, and you have yet to spill your 'Oh so urgent!' beans so I have to find something to un-bore myself." The blond teenage girl stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Is un-bore even a word?" Emily asked, slumping back in the cushion of the couch.

"Not in my dictionary." Spencer muttered as she contemplated what to say next.

"Let me look it up!" Hanna offered in an over-enthused voice, grasping the opportunity to disturb herself.

She pulled the dictionary out of its pre-designed spot between Ezra's grammar books, editions of 'Associated Press Style Book' and 'When Words Collide'. She set the work down on the coffee table and sat next to Emily. She flipped it open to a random page and frowned. A letter-format piece of paper folded in two sat between the worn pages of the English dictionary. She carefully picked the paper and unfolded it. She scanned it quickly. Her facial expression twisted in a mix between sadness and adoration. After quite a long silence, Spencer spoke up, reaching for the letter.

"What is it?" She questioned her, all but yanking the cream-coloured paper from the blonde's fingers. Her eyes skimmed over it quickly and her heart sank. She passed it to Emily and after she too had read it, they all sat together, at loss of words.

"Do you think there's more?" Emily wondered her voice almost silent.

"He should be the one reading that." Hannah pointed out.

"Then maybe he'd come to his senses." Spencer added quietly, and honestly quite grateful of the change in subject.

"We should look around to see if there are more of these." Hanna squealed excitedly, jumping up from her recent place on the couch.

"What makes you think there's others somewhere? Maybe it was a one-time thing." Spencer thought out loud.

"Earth to Spencer, are you still in there? There was a date and a number in the top-left corner of the letter. Meaning: There's more than one letter. Damn, you're losing your skills, Hastings!" Hanna exclaimed shooting a playful look at her friend as she turned around, bright yellow fabric flowing in her trail.

* * *

"Guys, over here!" Emily said excitedly, waving her friends forward. She reached behind a row of different editions of To Kill a Mockingbird, grabbing a dark brown cardboard box and bringing it forward. She pulled the lid off the box and discovered what they had been looking for. A pile of carefully closed envelopes, pressed with light pink orchid petals, similar to the one they had found in the dictionary. On each envelope, a date and a numbers were written in Aria's unmistakable handwriting.

"This is _so_ Notebook-ish!" Hanna squealed, clapping.

Spencer had been sitting back and inspecting Emily's discovery as she unpacked it. She spoke up, making an instant decision. After all, she wasn't the only one who could use a little Team Sparia.

"Who's up for a trip to Delaware?!"

* * *

And I don't get waves of missing you anymore,  
They're more like tsunami tides in my eyes

* * *

Aria Montgomery stepped into apartment 3B later that evening, coming back from a day at the gallery with her mother. She dived into every opportunity to be distracted lately, seeing how she missed her long term boyfriend Ezra Fitz so dearly. She had been counting the nights. The nights since he had left. The nights since he had shed a tear on the sidewalk before leaving her standing there as well. The nights since he had chosen his son over her.

Every single night since he had left, she had found herself sitting in the middle of his flat, hoping he would realise what he had done and come back to hold her tight to his chest and kiss her tears away. Yet, it had been 26 nights. 26 painful nights without anything aside from a text to inform her he was still alive and enjoying the time he was spending with his son. That night 26 days ago when she was left alone on the damp sidewalk, she had found no better comfort than her sacred ground, between the walls of his apartment. She wasn't sure how to deal with everything she was feeling on her own, so she did the only she knew. She wrote it down. And night after night, letter after letter, it was her way of telling him what she felt, amongst her most random thoughts without_ actually_ telling him. The time she spent writing him letters in his apartment was her daily dose of 'him'. It relieved her from the constant weight on her shoulders, the weight of her approximate loss. He hadn't formally said it, but when he had driven away that night, Aria had felt more alone than the time he had actually broken up with her in the past. She had felt empty.

Like what had become a habit in the past 26 days, she settled her purse on the kitchen counter. She pulled her phone out of it and brought it with her. She went to sit at his desk and placed a sheet of paper in the typewriter. She aligned it properly and proceeded typing.

An hour and two and a half sheets later, she folded the pieces of paper in two perfect halves and placed them in an envelope. She licked the sticky side of the envelope and folded the flap to seal it. She picked and orchid petal from the bowl of water on the counter and dried it before going back to the desk and pressing the petal to the envelope. The small brunette carefully tossed the envelope on the coffee table before going to retrieve the bottle of white wine already started. She poured herself a glass and sat it on the bed side table. She rearranged the pillows to be comfortable and retrieved the remote. She settled the TV settings on DVD and pressed play. She sunk in the cushion of the very familiar bed, which held cherished memories, with her glass of wine, occasionally sipping on it.

Midway through her viewing of _Titanic,_ Aria was alerted by rustling in the hallway outside the apartment. She momentarily looked up from the TV screen before her but did not think much of it. It was only 10pm after all. The footsteps that came along with the noise vanished and the teenage girl leaned back in the pillows. The credits rolled a few minutes later, Aria couldn't help but sing along with the renowned song. It felt good to sing at the top of her lungs like she hadn't done in a while. As the lyrics to '_My Heart Will Go On' _died down, so did her voice. She sighed as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wasn't entirely sure if they were from the movie or from her own despair, but from the amount of tears she had cried in the last days, she couldn't care less. She got up to retrieve tissues from the kitchen and when she walked in front of the door, an envelope slid under the door and landed against the side of her feet. She jumped back, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was partially scared as she picked up the envelope from the floor and turned it over. Her very own handwriting covered it and you could see it had been opened. She recognized it instantly, seeing as an almost identical one was sitting on the coffee table nearby. Aria's heart raced in her chest as a million questions popped in her head. Who found the letters? How did someone manage to get them in the first place? But most importantly: who was on the other side of the door constantly slipping them in? There were no trace of A- on any envelope and Aria's anxiety grew. Who could it be? She would forever damn Ezra for picking an apartment with a door without a peep-hole. She fearfully stepped closer to the door and rested her shaky hand on the doorknob. She twisted the lock in an antagonizing slow movement. She released the lock and took a deep breath before opening the door in a swift motion.

"Hi, beautiful." The blue-eyes man on the other side breathed as his eyes finally landed on the one sight he had missed in the past 26 days.

Aria was knocked breathless. Surprise etched on her face. It felt like every single muscle in her body refused to listen to her at that precise moment. Her eyes reluctantly looked away from his mesmerizing one and landed on the familiar dark brown box. The knot in her throat tightened even more, if that was possible. She had written each letter with care, meaning every single word in all of them. She wasn't sure she was ready to know how he felt about them, let alone assessing the fact he had probably read them before heading back.

"Welcome home." She finally murmured with a hesitant voice.

_Home._

Ezra released a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding and a tender smile etched on his features. The word sent a warm shiver down his spine. As much as he had enjoyed getting to know his son and living with him for such a long time, he knew he wouldn't be able to call somewhere 'home' without Aria by his side, deciding where to hang the funky patterned curtains and or reading a book next to him on lazy Sunday mornings.

He had to remind himself he was holding something precious or otherwise he would've jumped in her arms and squeezed the daylight out of her. He had missed the tiny brunette who made his world go round and more colourful so much it hurt. Instead, he carefully stepped forward, ignoring his bags on the floor and extended the opened box so it was settled between them. Aria's eyes never left the box. She breathed in carefully and lifted her eyes to meet his. She expected to find conflict or even longing for the family he had left behind tonight, though not permanently, but she saw none. The only thing she deciphered was love, and perhaps regret for leaving her like that. She instantly regained her confidence. She knew what she wanted and no matter how he would react to those goddamn letters, it wouldn't stop her from having it.

She took the box from his hands, put the lid back on and put it down on the seat of the bike he kept near the door and came to stand before him. He hadn't moved an inch. He gently lifted his right hand and caressed her cheek, her skin gaining a shade of pink in the wake of his fingers. She put her hand over his and savoured the feeling it brought deep inside of her. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to hold back her tears. Suddenly, he was everywhere, taking her off guard. His arms wrapped around her tiny frame and he pulled her in forcefully, cradling her face to his chest. He kissed the top of her head and she clutched his shirt, breathing in his sent. She leaned back in his strong embrace and his hands went to cup her face. They looked at each other and time seemed to stretch endlessly. No words needed to be spoken to exactly what the other wanted, craved even. At once, his lips were on hers, kissing her softly. They were meant to be, like two pieces of the same puzzle. Her lips molded his perfectly and soon, she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands moved to encircle her waist, hugging her closer to him if that was even possible. He trusted his tongue in her mouth and their tongues fought for dominance, their usual dance never forgotten.

Aria jumped up and wrapped her legs around Ezra's waist and he didn't hesitate a second to move to the couch. It was closer than the bed. They fell unceremoniously on it, giggling as their lips disconnected. Their laughter eventually died down and the atmosphere turned hot and heavy. Ezra broke their eye contact and lowered his head slowly to her neck and started to leave a trail of feather light kisses from her collar bone to her ear. When he reached his destination, he stopped and ran his along it.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that. _So_ sorry." He whispered in her ear before biting down on her earlobe.

Aria cried out, a mix of pleasure from the pleasure of his action and the pain of his words. He made his way back down, sucking and nipping on the exposed skin. He kissed the top of her breasts but made no move to take her shirt off, knowing she wasn't ready to do_ that _until they had talked things through. He also felt like that would be taking advantage of her. She clearly couldn't think straight, something he prided himself for. She ran her hands through his soft curls, trying to handle the waves of pleasure going through her. How she had missed the feel of his hair between her fingers, something she hadn't failed to mentioned in her 14th letter. She brought him back up to her lips and kissed him feverishly just as he finished leaving a hickey on the top of her left breast. They broke the kiss for air and lay on top of one another, panting heavily. As the movement of their chests slowed to a normal rhythm, Ezra slowly pulled Aria up in a sitting position with him. She rearranged her position on the couch so he was sitting on one end and she was sitting on his lap, her feet almost reaching the other end. He cradled her in his arms and she lay back in his embrace. He kissed her forehead lovingly, and in that moment he knew that nothing would ever beat the feeling of being _home_.

"I love you." He murmured, gently breaking the comfortable silence.

"I know." She answered, closing her eyes and snuggling in his shirt.

* * *

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Flo xox


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